The present invention relates to bow guns of the type capable of storing and launching a plurality of projectiles in sequence.
Bow guns, employed widely during the middle ages, are still popular today as hunting weapons in many sportsmen's circles. The bow gun is employed to fire a projectile, such as an arrow or dart, from a runway or discharge channel. In use, a bow string is cocked to a point behind the projectile and is mechanically fixed in such a position until activation of a trigger releases the bow string to launch the projectile toward its target.
Numerous modifications of the classical bow gun design have been proposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,561,419 (issued on Feb. 9, 1971), 3,670,711 issued on June 20, 1972), and 3,739,765 (issued on June 19, 1973) for discussions pertaining to bow guns.
In spite of these and other proposals, there remains the need for a simplistic bow gun which can economically and effectively satisfy the performance requirements of present day bow gun fanciers. To be useful as a hunter's weapon, a bow gun should possess rapid fire capabilities without the use of unduly expensive and sophisticated repeater mechanisms. The moving parts should be few in number and protectively located, yet easily accessible. Cocking should be easy and convenient and accomplished in a manner which produces minimal wear of the bow string. Loading should be as quick and foolproof as possible.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to incorporate all of these features in a bow gun.
It is another object of the present invention to maximize the performance and effectiveness of bow guns at a cost suited to the average sportsman.
It is another object of the invention to provide a reliable and accurate bow gun which features an essentially jam-proof repeater type firing action by means of relatively few moving parts.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a bow gun which is compact, easy to cock, and provides quick access to its internal parts.
It is a further object of the invention to provide novel methods and apparatus for loading a repeater-type bow gun.